Dec 5, 2013; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats head coach Tommy Tuberville on the sidelines during the third quarter against the Louisville Cardinals at Nippert Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
It’s 48 hours until one of my personal Christmases, National Signing Day for college football on Wednesday. Cincinnati’s recruiting class for 2014 is pretty well done but there are four recruits who UC could land to elevate this from a good to great crop of signees. Additionally, the Bearcats would do themselves well if they managed to sign one of their highly sought after verbal commitments on National Signing Day and put a shine on this class.
Let’s take a look at those five recruits and where they stand.
1) Kevin Mouhon
The high 3-star/low 4-star linebacker had been verbally committed to Tennessee for the better part of the last seven months. But Mouhon visited Cincinnati on January 17th and decommitted from the Volunteers shortly thereafter. Rumor has it Tennessee’s swath of linebackers (5 by my count) in their current class caused him to look elsewhere. Plus the fact that Mouhon could play with his brother Silverberry at Cincinnati may be drawing him to the Bearcats. Regardless of the reason, several schools are inquiring about his services but UC appears to be the front runner to land him as of now. Mouhon will be a signing day decision.
Like Mouhon, Tajee Fullwood visited Clifton fairly recently, on January 24th to be exact. He’s current verbally committed to South Florida but the fact that he took a last minute trip to Cincinnati could indicate that he has eyes for the Bearcats. As of now the Bulls are probably a near lock to sign Fullwood but you never know what could happen on National Signing Day. The 6’1″ 189 lbs cornerback has the potential to play as a true freshman and the Bearcats, with depth issues at defensive back heading into the 2014 season, can sell him on the fact that could play early at UC. Interestingly enough, JUCO cornerback Corey Ferguson switched from UC to Fresno State just about a week ago, about the same time as Fullwood’s UC visit. Does Tuberville know something about him that the rest of us don’t?
The 6’2″ 170 lbs receiver from Miami, Florida is currently uncommitted but a heavy lean to Syracuse. He visited upstate New York on January 17th but took a trip to Cincinnati on January 24th and Louisville over the weekend. It’s anyone’s guess as to where the 3-star rated Ishmael will wind up and at this point UC probably has as good a shot as either the Orange or Cardinals to land him. We’ll see what happens!
The Dayton runningback has a good combination of size and speed to be an every down back for any collegiate program. It doesn’t appear he currently has an offer from Cincinnati but the 3-star prospect has visited the Bearcats in the most recent cycle and they could honestly use his services. UC has a dire need for a larger runningback in this class in the similar build of Tion Green. Jackson could be that player for Cincinnati. I’d be curious to see where he ends up signing on Wednesday.
Tuberville and crew have been fighting tooth and nail to keep Spencer Williams committed to Cincinnati. The 6’4″ 220 lbs high 3-star defensive end verballed to UC and Robert Prunty way back on March 31st. But since then Auburn offered him, causing Williams’ teammate Raashed Kennion to switch, along with Iowa, Georgia Tech, Purdue, and Nebraska in early January. Clearly Cincinnati’s staff recognized the prospect early as a diamond in the rough and other schools are riding on their coattails. If the Bearcats can hold on to Spencer Williams to see him sign with UC on Wednesday, that would be a major win for the good guys.
A Sixth Prospect: Greg Gooch
The 6’3″ 245 lbs inside linebacker isn’t mentioned among the five prospects above because he’s scheduled to decide today. But I thought it appropriate to mention him in this post anyways. Gooch is an unanimous mid 3-star prospect from Longwood, Florida who visited Indiana on January 17th but took his last official to Cincinnati on the 24th. He is expected to choose between the Hoosers, Bearcats, and Iowa State sometime today. Hopefully with UC fresh in his mind Gooch decides for the good guys when push comes to shove.